Here is an easy format for CW QSO which we used to call a "Rubber Stamp" QSO… and for anyone starting out with going on air, it's a good formula, as you set the pace and the format, and are less likely to get unknown longer words and rag chew responses….

First, call CQ at a speed you are comfortable with getting a reply at, or better, a speed a bit LESS than that:

The PSE K at the end is very useful, because if someone tuned in to you without hearing your CQ but only got your callsign, they will KNOW you were calling CQ, because only a CQ ends with "PSE K". Note: DURING a QSO if you want anyone to be able to break in and join in, send K at the end of your over, but otherwise send KN which means Go Ahead but No One Else. It's used less these days, but it serves a very useful purpose in Amateur Radio!

You don't have to send the other person's callsign twice at the beginning of your first over, but it's a good idea to do so: 1. the other station will know you got their call correctly, and they like to hear their callsign coming through so it won't matter if it is sent twice, if sent once they may not be sure if you got it and be worried :)

No need to send HOW DO YOU COPY? simply HW? is the standard. Do NOT send MY QTH IS … as QTH already means "My location is…". Also do NOT send FOR the very well known common and much shorter is FER. Do NOT send YOU or YOUR/YOURE the much more common, well known, established and shorter is U and UR. Do NOT send AND the much more common, well known, established and shorter is ES. You CAN send THE but you should also find words which you can LEAVE OUT which won't affect the information being conveyed. As an example, there is no need in a slow speed (below 20WPM) CW QSO to say: My antenna is a dipole up 4 mx above the ground. Send: ANT DIPOLE UP 4M

When W5BIB answers, he's going to give you your report, his name, and his QTH. He may or may not add some more stuff like WX, RIG, ANT, up to him, and by the length of his over, you'll get an idea if he is ready to finish the QSO or if you should also give your RIG, ANT information, if he said 73 etc, don't come back with your further info, but otherwise you are free to, and your second over would normally go very similar to this in a "rubber stamp" QSO:

You could put the R at the front or at the start after the callsigns or both, but don't use R unless you really did receive all the information he sent you.

If you missed something come back with PSE RST? or PSE UR NAME? or QTH? BK

Then all you need to do on the final final (third over) is dit dit :) or again if you like: 73 TU (Best wishes, thank you) E E (dit dit) or ESE (dit di-di-dit dit) which the other station usually replies to also with "dit dit"

These types of "rubber stamp" QSO work very well across language barriers, and are less daunting to newcomers having first on-air QSOs. In Europe, due to language barriers, they are very common. In W/VK/G/ZL they'd be rare due to everyone speaking English, which makes it much harder for new comers to CW to get easy QSO without the other OM coming back with chat about his veggie patch, the price of mulch, what he ate for lunch, etc. :)

So if anyone wants to practice some rubber stamp QSOs, just go onto 7050 (see 7050 for Calling Frequency Code of Conduct) or elsewhere especially 7028 or 7032 is good, and try the above starting at the CQ. Keep the above information written out on a sheet of paper in front of you with your own details substituted, and use it when sending. Stick to the format, it is proven for over 50 years with great success, there is no need to change it, it is used by hams all over the world including in China, Russia, Brazil and any other places people don't normally know any English. It is the same format that was taught to us in England, Australia, USA, Canada, New Zealand, until recently when the CW tests were dropped, with the result that now it is confusing and difficult for new CW operators to get on air and avoid confusion, and why now even some experienced operators don't make use of KN correctly and get annoyed when someone replies to their K. A "K" ALWAYS means ANY station can break in or call. Only KN or + (AR) does not.

If someone calls CQ at a speed of less than 20WPM and I've not met them before, or forgotten our last QSO, I always assume a rubber stamp QSO is in order, until proven otherwise by their response. As an experienced operator I much prefer a new operator to stick to a rubber stamp type of format with common abbreviations, than one who uses the full stop .-.-.-, comma - - . . - -, AND, FOR, YOU, YOUR, PLEASE, THANKS, WEATHER, etc instead of =, ES, FER, U, UR, PSE, TKS or TNX or TU, WX etc. And I know this goes for other experienced operators. It does NOT mean we are unwelcoming to newcomers, far from it, it is just as frustrating as when a new L plate driver (if indeed new as stupid regulations here mean some of us may end up by mistake returning to VK and taking an L instead of getting overseas license updated first) from abroad arrives in Australia with a FULL license and has never before driven a car on the road. It is simply expected that a certain minimum amount of knowledge is already in hand BEFORE going on the road, especially when that makes it much less stress free for the newcomer as well as the old timer.

So, cheat sheets: always keep them handy! And learn off by heart the following 3 Q codes before you go on air:

QRT = STOP SENDING. If you EVER hear this, do NOT ask why, just STOP.
QSY = Change your frequency. Again, if you EVER hear this do NOT ask why or ignore it, just do it, or stop sending.
QRL = I am busy / this frequency is busy.

DR always means "Dear" is often used as in DR OM "Dear Old Man" more in amateur radio than normal usage….
R or RR or RRR always means Roger, it can be sent more than once to be sure the other side receives it.

Instead of MY NAME IS LOU you can also use OP LOU — 20+ years ago OP (Operator) was almost only used in East Europe, but meanwhile it is used world wide, I think I was one of the first "westerners" to use it :-)

Lou, in your example you mention if someone answers you, respond as follows… .
What is a typical response to a CQ ?

I am uncertain as to the use of 'AR' depending what I read, the use of AR seems to vary..
Example is in the ARRL ethics and Operating procedure page 24 ARRL document Here it shows the use of AR at the end of sending CQ?

According to the document, AR means 'end of message' whilst K means 'over to you'

My Cheat sheet that I sourced from the Net says the opposite i.e when sending CQ, never use AR as it means you are ending your transmission and not inviting anyone to answer.

So, if you end a CQ with + K or any other message with + K then it means "End of message, go ahead (anyone)".
If no K follows, then it only means "end of message" and it isn't expected anyone may answer. Hope that makes sense?

So in other words you can include a + at the end of a CQ and follow it with + K or + PSE K — sometimes I do, sometimes don't use + as it's just a bit of fun, not really required. Same as the dah-di-dah-di-dah (start of message) isn't really required.

PS: I see where the confusion comes from. That ARRL document is NOT correct. Of course you should end a CQ with K even better with PSE K because that way anyone knows you were calliing CQ. Even commercial marine radio we often used K at the end of a CQ. I'll make a comment in a different thread on some of the funny and useful/ignored parts of that document.

Personally I never use KN at the end of a transmission, but that's just me! I've always used AR K, or just K, and my interpretation of AR K is, "end of message, go ahead the station I'm communicating with". Not go ahead anyone! If someone else chimed in there, you would find it a bit rude, unless they broke in with a BK and waited.

Stations quite often use different ways of ending an over, or ending a QSO and a bit of variety sometimes, makes it interesting but doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong. So it's good to learn the different ways, so you aren't in for nasty surprises!

Few people use KN now, but back in the early days of Amateur Radio up until the 90's I guess, it was very common, even the norm. It was not used in any other services, I believe, it was introduced only for amateur radio. Indeed, it could be rude to interupt a QSO, but if someone wants to truly avoid any misunderstanding and definitely does not want to be interupted the only way to do that would be to use KN, for otherwise a ham can be forgiven for tuning across a signal VK5EEE K and if not hearing the other party come back, wonder if he was calling CQ. Unlikely, but possible. I did have a famous expert in VK5 calling someone on a sked and tuned across his loud QRQ CW only to think "at last, I've found the bugger, he'll be so pleased to meet another VK5 QRQ" sending his callsign 2 or 3 times then PSE K or K, and silence, so I was confident since his call was sent more than once and did not end with KN that he was calling CQ. He came back and politely told me to BUGger off, since he was waiting for someone on a sked! But if someone is ending an over with their callsign only once and a K it is unlikely anyone would call them, and if so, would be better off just sending "BK" to see if they are allowed in.

Very interesting remarks, I nearly always us AR then K or BK I suspose that each operator has there own way and thats fine by me because, you can usually tell who's sending as everybody has there own digital sending. I do more listening than sending I justvenjoy the tone. At times later at night and when a good strong CW signal is there in QSO with another station, I enjoy turning off all the lights in the house and just listen. I find this very therapeutic.